The European Union is inextricably linked to the Arctic region by a unique combination of history, geography, economy and scientific achievements. Three Member States — Denmark (Greenland), Finland and Sweden — have territories in the Arctic. Two other Arctic states — Iceland and Norway — are members of the European Economic Area. Canada, Russia and the United States are strategic partners of the EU. European Arctic areas are a priority in the Northern Dimension policy. Beyond areas of national jurisdiction, the Arctic Ocean contains parts pertaining to the high seas and the seabed managed by the International Seabed Authority.

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As part of the EU's Arctic policy, reflected in the Communication on "Developing a European Union Policy towards the Arctic Region" (JOIN(2012) 19 final), the European Commission and the European External Action Service are committed to ensuring that the views of Arctic inhabitants are taken into account in EU policy actions touching upon the Arctic. It specifically stated that "the Commission and the EEAS would step up their efforts to hold regular dialogues with indigenous peoples." The meeting organised on 22 January aimed to build on the experiences of previous meetings to give further impetus to the dialogue between the EU and Arctic indigenous peoples, the third regular meeting since 2013

The aim is to assess monitoring programmes and data availability in the Arctic, Atlantic, Baltic and Black Sea and to examine how the mapping of water depth in shallow coastal water scould be accelerated.

Although traditional societies are known for being highly adaptable (Arctic Human Development Report 2004), current changes are happening at a rate that is threatening their ways of life and economic survival, especially when combined with other complex and cumulative processes of global change

The ‘poster child’ of sea‐level rise is a major misrepresentation of the actual risks to our growing coastal cities and unique coastal habitats, and damages the understanding of the changing risks associated with sea levels. Unfortunately, these provocative images often printed by the media alongside misleading headlines evoke a dramatic consequence of future sea‐level rise projections.